The University of Southern Mississippi’s Katrina Research Center, located at the Gulf Park campus in Long Beach, will serve as the sixth and final location for the Smithsonian Institution’s “Journey Stories” exhibit in Mississippi.

Journey Stories is an interactive exhibit addressing migration and immigration as they relate to the American experience. Using engaging images, audio and artifacts, it tells stories that illustrate the critical roles travel and movement have played in building our diverse American society.

“The Katrina Research Center will also offer, in conjunction with the Smithsonian exhibit, local journey stories such as the development of the seafood industry, the Vietnamese journey to Mississippi, Mardi Gras, Long Beach truck farming and women in the arts after Hurricane Katrina,” said Dr. Deanne Nuwer, director of the Katrina Research Center. “This is an exhibit that truly has something for everyone.”
The Journey Stories schedule of events is as follows:  
·         Jan. 23, 1 p.m. – Journey Stories exhibit opens to the public with a schooner tour and refreshments at the Long Beach Harbor. [Click for photos from event.]
·         Feb. 8, 6:40 p.m. – Lecture on the history of Mardi Gras by Professor Kern Jackson of the University of South Alabama. The lecture will be presented at the Advanced Education Center auditorium on the Southern Miss Gulf Park campus. A film screening of Orders of the Myth will follow.
·         Feb. 11, 5:30 p.m. – Mardi Gras Memories from Gulfport Mayor George Schloegel as guest speaker, 5:30 p.m., Gulf Coast Library on Gulf Park campus, Long Beach.
·         Feb. 25, 6 p.m. – Exhibit opens on the Vietnamese community of the Gulf Coast featuring work by Sun Herald photojournalist Tim Isbell, Southern Miss faculty Betty Press and Linda VanZandt of the Center for Oral History and Cultural Heritage.
·         March 2, 6:30 p.m. – Lecture on truck farming in Long Beach by Ashley Skellie.
·         March 8, 6:30 p.m. – Panel discussion on Hurricane Katrina and women in the fine arts led by author Melody Golding of Vicksburg.
·         March 9, 6 p.m. – History of Hancock County will be presented by historian Charles Gray.
·         March 10, 5 p.m. – History of Pass Christian by Alderman Rory Robin Rafferty, Jr.
·        The Journey Stories exhibit, sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution and Mississippi Humanities Council, will be on display at the Katrina Research Center until March 11. The exhibit is free and open to the public.
For more information, contact the Southern Miss Katrina Research Center at 228.214.3423; online, visit www.usm.edu/katrina.